Sonic Boys x Reader One-Shots

Can I Help You, Princess? (Shadow the Hedgehog x Reader)

A/n: I have no idea what this AU is.

The (a/t) pulled her hood over her head, walking into the bar. It was a desert area, the buildings shabby and made of wood. Most of the residents in that area were drunk, supposedly trying to drink away their problems. It was horrible, and the sooner she found what she was looking for, the better. 

She approached the bartender, who was setting out a few cracked shot glasses for some of the Mobians, who'd obviously had more than one. She grimaced and the bartender turned to her. She kept her hood shielding her eyes, trying to keep her identity under wraps. 

"Can I help you?" the bartender asked, leaning on the counter and spinning a coin. 

"I need directions, and everywhere else I've tried has yielded no results." 

"Where might you be looking to go?" (Y/n) glanced around the bar, then leaned over to the bartender and slid a coin in his direction. He glanced down at it, his eyes widening. He reached for it but she pulled it out of reach. 

"Not a word to anyone," she growled, taking the coin off the counter and flipping it to him. He nodded and leaned towards her. "I'm looking for the treasure caverns, the caverns of the olden kingdoms. I made it this far but now I'm lost and I need to be pointed in the right direction." 

"I don't know exactly where they are," the bartender said, turning the coin over in his hand. "But travelers on their way there have stopped by. Keep heading west. Directly under the setting summer sun." He paused, then opened his hand. "If you have another, I think I can get you a tour guide." 

She paused, looking him up and down. Then she sighed and flipped another coin to him. "He goes by a lot of names," he said, glancing left and right. "But he lives on the outskirts of town. Some would say he's more handsome than the rest of us, rugged and all that. You'll know when it's him. He knows this place like no other. Some say he's even immortal." The bartender leaned back. "But you'll need a whole lot more of those precious coins to persuade him. He doesn't give stuff away easily anymore." 

"That won't be a problem, then," she said, stepping back. 

"And...if you're heading to those old caverns, you'll need to be a really good royal impersonator. Anyone who isn't royal is killed on the spot. At least, that's what they say." 

"I'll take my chances." She lifted her hand in a farewell, weaving through the bar's crowds to the exit and slipping out, heading off in the direction he'd pointed her in. 

~

The dark hedgehog sat on the bench under the shop's patio roof, staring out over the desert beyond, destroyed buildings and power lines strewn across it. The wasteland. 

"There you go, sir," a rather ugly female Mobian said, exiting the shop and handing him a bottle. He nodded his thanks and uncapped it, taking a sip out of it. He lifted his eyes, the bottle still pressed to his lips as someone approached him. He swallowed and dropped the bottle on his lap, turning the cap over in his hand. 

"It's you, isn't it?" they asked. A female, and a well taken care of one, at that. He could tell by the smooth sound of her voice. 

"It's me," Shadow said, swirling the liquid around in the bottle without looking up. "Whatever you want, I don't care. Go away." He blinked as she dropped a pouch on his lap, pulling her hand back into her cloak. He set the bottle on the bench beside him and opened the pouch, peering inside. Then he finally looked up at her, though he was unable to see her face under her hood. "Where did you get these?" 

"None of your business," she said. "All that matters is that I need your help." 

"I'm listening." He attached the pouch to his belt and retrieved his bottle, taking another sip.